India's Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS topped the field in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team shooting qualifying event but eventually went on to lose to China's Bowen Zhang and Ranxin Jiang in the gold medal match at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday.
Sarabjot, who won the gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Pistol Team event, was in superb form and compiled a score of 291 out of a possible 300 in the qualifying round. Divya, who had won a silver in the Women's 10m Air Pistol Team competition, shot 286 in the qualifying round as the Indians topped the standings with a score of 577.
The Chinese were at 576 points and in second place after the qualification round.
However, in the final, the Chinese turned the tables on the Indians, coming from behind to register a 16-14 victory to take the gold medal.
In the first-to-reach-16-points final, the Indians jumped to a 4-0 lead by winning the first two rounds -- scoring 19.8 and 20.0 as against 19.7 and 19.5 by the Chinese in the first two series of two shots each.
The two teams were tied at 19.3 points in the third round before the Chinese won two points by winning the fourth round. The Indians won the next round to make it 7-3.
However, China won the next two rounds to level scores at 7-7. But the Indians again opened up a lead by winning the next two rounds. China won the next three rounds as the two teams engaged in a neck-to-neck battle.
With a couple of 9.3s and 9.5 shots hampering their progress, the Indians lost the duel 16-14 and had to be satisfied with a silver medal as Sarabjot managed only 9.9 in his final shot.
Both Sarabjot and Divya were happy with their performance and the way they fought in the final.
"It does feel good. We did a great job today. Thanks to my teammate as well. We gave it our best. I like the way I fought well in the finals. I really loved my shooting today, from my first shot to my last shot," said Divya after the final.
Asked about his score of 9.9 in the final shot, the 22-year-old Sarabjot said, "I was a little bit nervous. There was too much shooting pressure."
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